HIV/AIDS and Democratic Governance in South Africa

Part of a continent-wide study being carried out by the Governance and AIDS Programme of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA), this book brings together the most recent and substantive empirical evidence pertaining to the effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the democratic process and political dynamics in South Africa.

Concerned primarily with the sociological impacts of HIV/AIDS, the study demonstrates that beyond being a health crisis of great magnitude, the pandemic entails severe political and demographic consequences that pose some of the most serious threats to the capacity for democracy of the state and civil society; and which may yet undermine the democratic progress achieved by the country thus far. Further thereto, the authors argue that the crisis should be understood as a moral and ethical matter for all citizens concerned with social justice, in South Africa and beyond.